NIKOLAOS

B. 1986, ATHENS, GR

LOOK AT THE PAIN IN THE EYES, AND THE PAIN PASSES (2016)

Photographs by Natalia Tsoukala and Panos Kokkinias for NEON and MAI

This work by Nikolaos attempts to give manifest physicality to mental distress, and seeks ways to overcome it. The lack of freedom and prevailing enchainment of humankind today is only intensified by greater societal acceptance of the status quo, which brings, by extension, even greater societal constraints. The artist makes this lack of freedom literal, appearing bound, and hanging by a rope. This constriction of the body allows for the liberation of the mind, revealing a path to freedom through self-control, meditation, and a belief in the power of thought.

Nikolaos began drawing and playing music from a young age. He studied computer science. In 2010, he took his first violin lessons with Nelly Ikonomidou, got involved in various sports (such as rugby and long-boarding), and began experimenting with other musical instruments (bass guitar, keyboard), dance, singing, the theatre, as well as the art of tattoo-making. He discovered that there are no limits to human ability once the mind is free. He shares this art with the public through performances at private and public events in Greece and internationally.